United States
Staten Island Ferry & Times Square
After arriving at Newark Liberty Airport, check in at your hotel right on Times Square, catch the best free view of the Statue of Liberty, and end with the iconic NY pizza.
Take the Newark AirPort Express Bus
The Newark AirPort Express Bus was definitely one of our best discoveries of this trip. It takes you from Newark Liberty Airport to downtown Manhattan in about 40 minutes, the same as an Uber of Taxi except it only costs 18 dollars per person. You can book your tickets in advance on their website.
Check in at Riu Plaza Manhattan Times Square & enjoy the Times Square buzz
If you're looking for a good hotel with decent value for money in a prime location of NY, then the Riu Plaza Manhattan Times Square is your place to be. As the name reveals, it's located in the heart of Manhattan from where you can easily travel to all of New York City. You won't be able to resist checking out the flashy billboards on Times Square on your way to the hotel. So you might as well take your time to take it all in right away. It's a very busy, but unique place.
Hop on the Staten Island Ferry
If your flight doesn't arrive too late (and jetlag hasn't kicked in yet), a great first thing to do is to hop on the subway to Whitehall Terminal. From here, you can take the Staten Island Ferry for free (!) and enjoy some of the best views of the skyline of Manhattan, and, most importantly, of the Statue of Liberty. We did this just after dark and even then it was a magical experience seeing all the lights pop up. At the other end you can simply get off and straight on the next boat back to Manhattan.
Call it a day at Joe's Pizza
New York pizza, it's a thing. And the iconic Joe's Pizza was at the top of my bucket list. And apparently on everybody else's too, as the waiting line turned around the corner of the street. Luckily, they know how to deal with a crowd and it took no more than 20 minutes until we tasted one of the best pizza's we've ever had. And even if you do have to wait longer, you just get to enjoy watching all the celebrity pictures on the wall.
